Bidit Lal Das (15 June 1936 – 8 October 2012), commonly known as Potol Babu, was a Bangladeshi folk singer, composer, and music teacher from

Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra () was the radio broadcasting centre of Bengali nationalist forces during the Bangladesh War in 1971. The station played an important role in broadcasting the Declaration of Independence and increasing the morale of ...

Early life

Bidit Lal was born on 15 June 1938 in Sheikhghat,

Sylhet Sylhet (; ) is a Metropolis, metropolitan city in the north eastern region of Bangladesh. It serves as the administrative center for both the Sylhet District and the Sylhet Division. The city is situated on the banks of the Surma River and, as o ...

, to a noble ''

zamindar A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...

parivaar'' (landlord family) called "lalbrother's house". His grandfather, Bonk Bihari Das, was a local zamindar. He was a ''Pakwaj Badhak''. His family was associated with the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

. Bidit's father, Binod Lal Das, was a Member of the

Assam Legislative Assembly The Assam Legislative Assembly is the unicameral Assam Legislature, legislature of the List of states and union territories of India, Indian state of Assam. It is housed in Dispur, the capital city of Assam, geographically situated in present L ...

, and his mother, Prabha Rani Das, is a

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in 19th-century India. Khusrau K ...

player. Bidit was the fifth among his siblings. He started learning music at the age of 7. Later, he studied music under Indian maestro Paresh Chakraborty. Moving to

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

in 1946, he began his education there. He was a science student at the Shillong Saint Advance School and College. He returned to Sylhet after hearing the news of his father's illness in 1959. People in Sylhet knew him by his nickname, Potol Babu.

Music career

Bidit Lal Das has composed several songs during his career. Among the songs he composed, 16 songs are notable: * "Sadher Lau Banailo More Bairagi" * "morilay kandish na amar day" * "Sylhet pratam azan dhoni babay diyache" * "kare dekhabo moner dukkho go" * "Binodini go tor brindaban kare diye jabi" * "ami kemon kore potro likhi re" * "Pran kande man kandere" * "Bhramar kayo giya" * "premer mora jole dube na" * "Hasan Raja bole O Allah" * "ami jaimu allahr songe" * "sona didi go" * "moron kotha soron hoilo na tor" * "tumi rahamat er nadiya" * "moron kotha soron hoilo na tor" * "shesht bia'r Sanai" Bidit Lal Das was the president of Bangladesh Sangeet Sangathan Samannay Parishad's Sylhet chapter. He formed an organisation called Bidit Lal Das O Shohoshilpibrindo.

Death

Bidit Lal Das died on 8 October 2012 at the age of 77 years old. He suffered from bladder and lung disease. He was admitted to the Allied Critical Care Hospital in Sylhet on 7 September 2012. When the condition worsened, he was admitted to

Square Hospital Square Hospital is a private hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is one of three high-end private hospital in Bangladesh, the other being Evercare Hospital Dhaka and United Hospital, Dhaka. Tapan Chowdhury is the managing director of the hospit ...

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

on 21 September. He was on life support from 4 October. After paying respects at Sylhet Central Shaheed Minar, his last rites were held at Shashan in Chalibandar.

Awards

Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (; ) or simply known as Shilpakala Academy is the principal state-sponsored national cultural centre of Bangladesh. It is a academy of fine and performing arts. History It is the national academy of fine and pe ...

Gunijan Award * Sylhet Lok Sangeet Parishad Award *

Nazrul Academy Nazrul Academy is an academic research institution devoted to the study of the national poet of Bangladesh, Kazi Nazrul Islam, and his works including Nazrul Geeti. The academy is located in Moghbazar, Dhaka, Bangladesh. History Nazrul Academy w ...

Award * Ragib Rabeya Foundation

Ekushey Padak Ekushey Padak () is the second highest civilian award in Bangladesh, introduced in memory of martyrs of the Bengali language movement of 1952. The award is given to recognize contributions in a number of fields, including culture, education, and e ...

* National Radharman Dutta Medal (posthumous) * Hasan Raja Medal (posthumous)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Das, Bidit Lal 1938 births 2012 deaths People from Sylhet 20th-century Bangladeshi male singers 20th-century Bangladeshi singers Bangladeshi folk singers Recipients of the Ekushey Padak in 2024